Question

Explain how energy that comes from the outside of the Earth system drives the flow of water on surface currents.

Answer 1

The Sun's energy heats Earth's surface waters, causing evaporation and sublimation that lead to the movement of water vapor into the atmosphere, which eventually returns as precipitation to drive surface flows, contributing to surface currents.

Step-by-step explanation:

The energy from the Sun significantly powers the water cycle, causing surface water like oceans to warm up and initiate evaporation and sublimation. These processes move water into the atmosphere as water vapor, which then cools to form clouds before returning to Earth's surface as precipitation, like rain or snow. This precipitation either flows into rivers and eventually into the ocean as surface runoff, or infiltrates into the ground where it may become part of the subsurface water flow. Both evaporation and sublimation, driven largely by the Sun's energy, are crucial in creating surface currents that form as water moves back to larger bodies of water like lakes and oceans.

Answer 2

The ocean and atmosphere are connected. They work together to move heat and fresh water across the globe. Wind-driven and ocean-current circulations move warm water toward the poles and colder water toward the equator. ... The majority of the thermal energy at the Earth's surface is stored in the ocean.

Step-by-step explanation:

The ocean and atmosphere are connected. They work together to move heat and fresh water across the globe. Wind-driven and ocean-current circulations move warm water toward the poles and colder water toward the equator. ... The majority of the thermal energy at the Earth's surface is stored in the ocean.